Excessive Spending On National Budget Will Face a Nation Asking For Readjustment

People have been empowered to demand readjustment when the government spends national budgets lavishly.

Conditions according to which government agencies are allowed to introduce supplementary budgets are specifically stipulated by law, and the agencies should preferentially use the rest of their budgetary spending to pay national debts.

The Ministry of Planning and Budget and the Ministry of Finance and Economy announced yesterday that they were introducing a bill on national finance by integrating laws on budgets and accounts, and laws on fund management today.

The proposed bill introduces the “right for readjustment,” which empowers common people to demand readjustment to heads of central administrative agencies when either the government agencies, their contractors, or financial aid beneficiaries infringe the ordinances, thereby bringing about a loss on national finance.

This right was created by a civil monitoring system. Not exclusive to executive officials or directly related parties, anyone who can exercise this right when she or he turns in proper evidence.

Meanwhile, aiming to accept the whole gamut of people’s opinions on financial management, a financial advisory organization, consisting of figures from academia and civic groups, will be created. Its role is to render advice on extensive subjects related to national finance like budgetary planning and management, and to be a source of revenue.

Contrary to current conditions for a supplemental budget, which stipulates the budget is introduced when it is imperative to alter a planned budget, the proposed bill elaborates its conditions in detail, like for rescue of large natural disasters, economic recovery, and a stable national livelihood.

In addition to it, the bill makes it mandatory for government agencies to use at least 30 percent of the rest of their budgets to pay national debts, national indemnities or other liabilities.

When introducing bills regarding national financial spending and tax cuts, government agencies and assemblymen should hold negotiations with the Ministry of Finance and Economy or the Ministry of Planning and Budget after annexing materials on income and expenditure for five years.

When government agencies ask the Ministry of Finance and Economy to cut taxes, they should reduce or give up existing ones.

Besides, the bill makes it possible to channel surplus in special accounts, and other funds to general accounts, obligating the government to submit two-year national financial management plans to the National Assembly.

After the bill is passed around September, two Ministries are scheduled to implement this plan starting from next year.

Ki-Jeong Ko koh@donga.com